Review by Choice Review
An impressive historiography of the American separatist art movement "Ten American Painters" active from 1897 to about 1919. The Ten were eclectic artists who modernized academic styles with methods of European Impressionism. Hiesinger allows for the diverse character of the Ten's Impressionism: "including the rendering of bright outdoor light and color, the optical breakdown of detail, the concern for contemporary life, and the cultivation of a direct and spontaneous approach to subjects that could occur separately or in combination." Many of these artists are now considered virtually American "old masters" including Benson, Chase, Hassam, Metcalf, Twachtman, and J. A. Weir. Serious studies like this one should also reinstate their comrades De Camp, Dewing, Reid, Simmons, and Tarbell. Five chapter essays effectively present the material, from "The Founding of the Ten American Painters" through "The Challenge of Modernism, 1908-1918." The ad hoc nature of the group, and its gradual success and maturity into a dominant movement is documented. Footnotes are lengthy, but interesting and useful; 83 colorplates accompany 65 figures and other black-and-white photographs. Biographies and bibliography are exhaustive. Essential for serious collections along with W.H. Gerdt's; Masterworks of American Impressionism (CH, Oct'91).-M. Hamel-Schwulst, Towson State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
The group of 10 painters discussed in this gorgeous volume were the rebels of the American art world, banning together to resign en masse from the Society of American Artists in 1898. These energetic painters "challenged all the old assumptions with fresh artistic visions and new techniques, and, in the process, fundamentally altered the relationship of the artist to his audience." Hiesinger dissects the politics of art at the turn of the century and examines the critical controversy these visionaries sparked. The original 10 were Childe Hassam, J. Alden Weir, John Twachtman, Robert Reid, Willard Metcalf, Frank W. Benson, Edmund C. Tarbell, Thomas W. Dewing, Joseph R. De Camp, and Edward Simmons. The great William Merritt Chase joined the group when Twachtman died in 1902. Of the 166 reproductions, 89 are in color and many are of rarely reproduced masterpieces. The immediate impact of these paintings is light in all its scintillating beauty; the very molecules of the air seem to vibrate and dance. Flowers and women are favorite subjects, each lovingly depicted, and the landscapes are deep and sensuous. You almost don't need the text to tell you that any objection to these works evaporated quickly in the presence of their beauty. An important title for active art collections. ~--Donna Seaman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Noted art historian Hiesinger chronicles the rise of Impressionism in America through the works of the group of American painters known as The Ten who ``fundamentally altered the relationship of the artist to his audience.'' These painters included Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, Thomas Wilmer Dowing, and Edmund Charles Tarbell. The canvases of The Ten, who never became a formal school, range from scenes of domestic life to the depiction of bridges and factories to allegories, presented here in 89 vivid color plates and 77 black-and-white illustrations and accompanied by contemporary photographs. The informative text, which depicts their struggle for recognition, acceptance, and eventual decline as the avant-garde, is amply footnoted and illuminated by quotes from the artists themselves and from their peers. An appendix includes biographies, a chronology, and a bibliography. Both a serious study and a delightful stroll through a gallery of seminal paintings, this book is recommended for most collections.-- Edward B. Cone, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
